Ten Little Pigs
by MinervaDeannaBond
Summary: Following an awards banquet, Jessica is sorely regretting her choice of shoes. Seth is on hand to help ease the pain in her feet - every one of her ten little pigs. Written for the Definitive Guide to Murder, She Wrote's Fanfic 100 Challenge.


For my fellow Jesslitt shippers, here's a slice of fluffy, sweet wedded bliss. Following an awards banquet, Jessica is sorely regretting her choice of shoes - pun intended. Seth is there to help ease the pain in her feet, from each of her ten little pigs. My apologies to Dame Agatha Christie for playing with one of her book titles.

Written for the Definitive Guide to _Murder, She Wrote_'s Fanfic 100 Challenge. Prompt: _Shoes._

* * *

"The next time I wear these shoes, kick me."

"Offer taken. The next time you wear those shoes, you'll be too crippled to run away from me."

The shoes fell with a thud on the floor, the audible representation of Jessica's expression at that very moment. A frown mark worried the space between her eyes, which were now sparking with some sly humor. "Crippled? Seth, you are dangerously toeing the _old age _line."

Seth's mouth turned upward in a grin. "That puts me at a notch above you. At the moment, you can't toe a blessed thing." He watched as Jessica flexed and unflexed her toes, slowly and excruciatingly. "Tell me something, Jess. You've got over 20 pairs of shoes in your closet. Why, out of all the shoes you have, did you pick _those_?"

Jessica looked down at the cast-aside shoes that Seth was pointing an accusing finger at. "Two reasons. One, they were the same shade of blue as my dress. And two, I'd never worn them before."

"And _that _begs the question of why you bought them in the first place. Knowing you, you probably tried them on when you bought them, so you knew how they felt. _Why _did you buy them?"

"They didn't pinch when I first tried them on." Seth raised a skeptical eyebrow and Jessica rolled her eyes. "All right, maybe just a tiny bit. But a lot of pumps do at first. I thought perhaps they'd loosen up with wear." She sighed. "Let this teach me never to think one evening will break in a pair of shoes."

"Let this teach you never to buy a pair of sardine cans for your feet," Seth said, his eyes locking onto the discarded pumps once more. They were pretty enough, three-inch closed-toe heels that put Jessica at his height, and the same ultramarine as her evening gown. But as Seth knew, looks could be deceiving, and those shoes were deceptive to a fault. They had started out comfortable enough, as Jessica said. However, during the course of the awards banquet they'd attended, Seth noticed Jessica's expression becoming more and more pinched - just like her shoes. Now they were back in their suite at the hotel and Jessica was paying dearly for her choice of footwear.

"Better than cement sneakers," Jessica countered, massaging the soles of her feet.

"Touché." Seth's stern countenance vanished upon seeing her attending to her aches and sympathy for her spread throughout his being. Maybe he had been a little too biting. In any other circumstance when Jessica was wrong, particularly over something this silly, he would have gloated and laughed. Now, however, was not the time to smirk. He hated to see her in pain, even if it was only her feet that hurt. This was his _wife, _for heaven's sake. _In s__ickness and in health. _Granted, Jessica wasn't sick, but darned if he was going to see her suffer in any sense. "Here, Jess. Let me."

Jessica's motions ceased when Seth came around to stand before her. Before she could say a word, he had eased her up onto her feet with the tenderest of care. "Come on, honey," he said softly, allowing her to lean on him as he led her to their bed. He sat her down on the mattress slowly. "There you go. Now, what would you like to wear to bed? Your silk jammies? One of your nightgowns?"

Jessica smiled. "Actually, since it's such a warm night... I was thinking one of your pajama tops."

Seth grinned. Since the weather had warmed, she had taken to wearing his pajama tops instead of long nightgowns, finding them cooler and freer. "Coming right up." He searched in his duffel and pulled out a blue top for her. "There you go. Now I'm gonna go get ready for bed. Will you be all right?"

"Seth. I have aching feet, not a hernia. I'll be fine."

"Okay." He pressed his lips to her forehead and gathered his things before sequestering himself in the bathroom. Minutes passed as he shed his tux, donned his pajamas, and brushed his teeth. Then, just before he was about to re-enter the bedroom, he noticed some of Jessica's lotion on the counter. He lifted the little tub to his nose and inhaled the cool smell of fresh aloe. Ah yes, he knew this lotion well. Jessica always massaged aloe lotion into her skin as part of her morning routine, and it kept her skin as soft as silk. No doubt it also provided cooling relief in some instances. _Perfect. _Seth smiled and took the lotion with him into the bedroom.

Jessica was sitting up in bed, clad in his top and legs stretched out before her. She frowned in puzzlement when she saw the tub in his hands. "You brought my lotion out here?"

"Ayuh. And before you ask why, let me show you." Seth sat down at the opposite end of the bed, directly across from her and took her feet into his lap. He dipped his fingers into the aloe lotion and brought up a healthy glob of the stuff, and then proceeded to massage it into every crevice of her right foot.

"Ooh..." Jessica leaned her head back and closed her eyes. Seth restrained a chuckle. If she was a cat, she'd be purring right now. "Ooh, that feels so good..."

"Just what the doctor ordered," Seth said teasingly, now working lotion into her other foot. He took his time ministering to both feet, carefully pressing his thumbs to their balls and heels to ease the pain. When he got back up to her toes, he gave her big toe a gentle tug. "I don't think these little piggies are going to market anytime soon."

Jessica chuckled. "No, they're not. All of them are staying home."

Amused by their little plays on the old nursery rhyme, Seth began playing with her toes. "Hmm, lemme see. So this little piggy went to market..." he said, carefully tweaking her big toe again. "This little piggy stayed home..." He tugged on her next toe. "This little piggy had roast beef, as only you can make it..." He grinned when that one got a giggle. "This little piggy had none... and _this _little piggy went 'wee, wee, wee' all the way home," he finished, tweaking her pinky toe and then tickling the sole of her foot.

"Aah! Seth!" Jessica cried, letting rip a scream of laughter and jerking her foot away from his grasp. It did absolutely no good, for he simply grabbed her other foot and repeated the process until he had gotten to all ten of her toes. "Done," he said when he was through, planting a kiss on each foot.

Jessica gave him a wicked grin. "Now _that _is more like it: you kissing my feet."

"Ayuh. Every one of those ten little pigs." Seth moved over to his side of the bed and pulled the covers over them, welcoming her into his arms when she snuggled up. "Now let's see what else I can kiss. Two big blue eyes..." She closed her eyes with a laugh so he could drop a peck on each one. "One little nose..." Kiss. "Two pretty cheeks..." Kiss, kiss. "One stubborn little chin," he said, kissing her chin and caressing it.

"Are two lips on your list, by any chance?"

"Oh, honey, they're right at the top," Seth said with a smile before bringing his mouth to hers for a sweet, deep, delicious kiss. "Always."


End file.
